China blocks Google services

Google is reporting an “unusual” drop in traffic in mainland China and it appears that the drop is a result of a (temporary) censorship drive.

Gmail, maps and Google Drive have been blocked, but it is unclear whether all Google services are affected. The Great Firewall of China has apparently been pressed into service to keep a lid on the 18th Communist Party Congress, which is a rather big deal in China.

Searches for Google sites in China are apparently being rerouted to a site in Korea through DNS poisoning. Of course, there’s a chance users can get around it with a VPN connection, but most average users will probably have to wait for the congress to name the next generation of Chinese leaders before they can access their mail.

Now imagine if someone cut internet access in Florida until they sort out their election results? Come to think of it, that’s a brilliant idea.